Israeli probe: Flydubai co-pilot planned Tel Aviv attack before hiring

Two Israeli officials familiar with the investigation revealed that the Flydubai co-pilot who attacked the captain last week, in what is suspected to be an attempted plane crash, told Emirati investigators he had planned the attack before being hired by the airline.

A third source with knowledge of the inquiry, cited by Reuters, said the co-pilot, Omani national Humam Al-Hamami, intended to crash the plane bound for Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on Wednesday.

The source added that Al-Hamami had previously flown to Tel Aviv earlier this year and had considered hijacking the aircraft at that time, but changed his mind, possibly because he knew someone on board.

Neither Emirati nor Israeli authorities, nor Flydubai, have issued an official statement so far. The UAE has not announced formal charges against Al-Hamami, who remains in custody. It is unclear if he has been assigned legal representation, and Oman has not commented on the incident.

The UAE attorney general confirmed that the co-pilot attacked the captain of flight FZ 1073 with an emergency axe, describing the incident as a "terrorist act."

Passengers and crew managed to subdue the attacker. Indian pilot Sumeet Machar survived and was praised for managing to open the cockpit door. The flight carried more than 170 passengers and crew, most of them Israeli.

A reserve Flydubai pilot who was on board took over and landed the aircraft at a regional airport in northwest Saudi Arabia, where authorities detained the co-pilot before transferring him to the UAE.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that pilots from countries without diplomatic relations with Israel, such as Oman, are not permitted to fly routes to Israel, and ordered a review of foreign airline procedures.

An Australian counterterrorism unit is investigating possible links between the co-pilot and Australia, as he was enrolled at RMIT University in Melbourne about a decade ago.